Tutorial 2 FORMULAS, PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION
T-6 Tutorial 2 FORMULAS, PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION, AND THE MOLE FORMULAS: A chemical formula shows the elemental composition of a substance: the chemical symbols show what elements are present and the numerical subscripts show how many atoms of each element there are in a formula unit. Examples: NaCl: one sodium atom, one chlorine atom in a formula unit CaCl2: one calcium atom, two chlorine atoms in a formula unit Mg3N2: three magnesium atoms, two nitrogen atoms in a formula unit The presence of a metal in a chemical formula indicates an ionic compound, which is composed of positive ions (cations) and negative ions (anions). A formula with only nonmetals indicates a + molecular compound (unless it is an ammonium, NH4 , compound). Only ionic compounds are considered in this Tutorial. There are tables of common ions in your lecture text, p 56 (cations) and p 57 (anions). A combined table of these same ions can be found on the inside back cover of the lecture text. A similar list is on the next page; all formulas needed in this and subsequent Tutorial problems can be written with ions from this list. Writing formulas for ionic compounds is very straightforward: TOTAL POSITIVE CHARGES MUST BE THE SAME AS TOTAL NEGATIVE CHARGES. The formula must be neutral. The positive ion is written first in the formula and the name of the compound is the two ion names. EXAMPLE: Write the formula for potassium chloride. The name tells you there are potassium, K+, and chloride, Cl–, ions. Each potassium ion is +1 and each chloride ion is -1: one of each is needed, and the formula for potassium chloride is KCl.
[Show full text]